Hard Water - Danger to Cham?

[m1ndless]

I must have complelty missed this when researching chameleons, but is it bad to use Hard Tap water for misting my chams cage?!

Would this cause him to be kinda lethargic due to the unclean water?

Do I need to go buy jugs of water or something?

 

[Chameleon Nation]

Problematic water

I have really hard water where I live also. I boil my water then put it in the fridge to cool down. Now I have a problem with excess fluoride in our water. After awhile my mist heads get some fluoride build up and the mist heads spray funny. I use vinegar to clear up the fluoride off the misters. I know this doesn't answer your question but I'm dealing with the same problem. So it would be good to know what others think about this topic.

 

[m1ndless]

Then do you just microwave the water to heat it back up when misting or what? I like to use hot water in my mister, it sprays out warm, it does not cause such a big drop in temps as when you use cold water, plus my cham seems to prefer hot water.

 

[studiocham]

I kept chams on city tap water for 8 years before this happened. Now I have a filtration system and R/O. See linked thread:

https://www.chameleonforums.com/seizures-3720/index2.html

 

[m1ndless]

So tap water is bad?

 

[studiocham]

So tap water is bad?

Every tap water source is different, it could be fine. If you suspect it is your water, don't wait until something really bad happens. Get it tested. The EPA annual report for your water source and/or county may even be online, which is a good start to narrow down the cause(s). If I recall correctly, the EPA only tests municipal water sources every 3 months, and spikes can occur between tests.

 

[m1ndless]

Every tap water source is different, it could be fine. If you suspect it is your water, don't wait until something really bad happens. Get it tested. The EPA annual report for your water source and/or county may even be online, which is a good start to narrow down the cause(s). If I recall correctly, the EPA only tests municipal water sources every 3 months, and spikes can occur between tests.

Well, when my water comes out of my apartment sink it looks foggy, and is not even see through when it comes out hot, I can see the "minerals" settle sorta, and I can definetly taste the water, its pretty crappy, so I will go ahead and start using cleaner water, ill just boil tap water and pour it into a big jug and keep it in my room.

Thanks guys.

 

[SuperRad]

Hey M1ndless. Phx water seems to be ok. I have only used it on my chams and they are fine.

 

[m1ndless]

Hey M1ndless. Phx water seems to be ok. I have only used it on my chams and they are fine.

Yeah, but my apartments have crappy water compared to my moms house, I like the water at my moms house, but my apartment water is nasty, no idea why.

 

[Chameleon Nation]

Then do you just microwave the water to heat it back up when misting or what? I like to use hot water in my mister, it sprays out warm, it does not cause such a big drop in temps as when you use cold water, plus my cham seems to prefer hot water.

I only cool it down a bit. Just so it's warm and not scalding.

 

[fliver]

why don't you just buy some reptisafe?
we bought an 8.75 oz bottle about 7 months ago
and its only maybe 1/4 of the way gone

it instantly removes chlorine and chloramines
removes ammonia and helps prevent its accumulation
adds essential elecrolytes
aids in rehydrating new arrivals
and reduces the pH

 

[studiocham]

why don't you just buy some reptisafe?

I stopped using it because my original Meller's chameleon developed eye irritations when misted with it. The other species I had seemed to tolerate it, but knowing it was problematic for one didn't inspire my confidence.

Another keeper recommended AmQuel and that seemed to work fine, before the spikes. It does not remove the Na from the water, but the R/O does. I still use the AmQuel to neutralize chlorine residue after each cleaning.